In 1980, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observed that protactinium, a chemical element generated in thorium reactors, could be separated and allowed to decay to isotopically pure ...

Although metal alloys is not among the most exciting topics for most people, the moment you add the word ‘radioactive’, it ...

"Reintroducing Thorium" was extremely interesting (C&EN, Nov. 16, 2009, page 44). Judging from this article, thorium has tremendous potential to provide the energy that society desperately needs ...

Nuclear energy is making a comeback. Across Europe, governments are pouring huge amounts of money into new power plants while startups are busily working on smaller, modular alternatives. Most of ...

The sands of India are brimming with potential to fuel the country’s carbon-free future. As India is home to the world’s largest reserves of thorium, its long-term nuclear power strategy culminates in ...

A recently declassified report has revealed that China may have far more thorium than previously estimated. The radioactive metal, already known to exist in vast quantities within China’s borders, ...

Thorium reactors have long been proposed as a cleaner, safer alternative to conventional nuclear energy, and now a new Russian study has added another potential benefit to the mix. Scientists from ...

We took a look at the element tritium a short time ago. A "high octane" and ultra-rare nuclear isotope of which we have a global supply you could fit in an XL-sized suitcase. A supply that small could ...

In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this ...

In August 2021, China announced the completion of its first experimental thorium-based nuclear reactor. Built in the middle of the Gobi Desert in the country’s north, the reactor over the next few ...